The Race Across America is around the corner, and the Domestici are in full training. The road to the toughest race in the world has been a thorny one, with countless ups and downs, lined with endless hours of training and hard work. Team Domestici, led by Martin Soucek and Tomas Navratil, is going into the final sprint before RAAM, so let's keep our fingers crossed for them. We'll be there too!
It’s been almost a year since Martin Souček and began an extremely demanding journey, pushing his body to its limits. The goal was clear – to finish the world’s toughest race and to raise awareness and support for palliative care in the Czech Republic. Last year, after unsuccessful qualification, the door for the solo category was closed for Martin. However, in the spirit of the project, the Domestici wants to finish the race and will therefore go to the finish in a group! Let’s recap the highlights.
Martin Souček devoted a lot of effort to the preparation for the mythical RAAM. He put in kilometers day and night, hours in the gym, and honest recovery. All this under the supervision of experts and coaches. Nevertheless, at the end of the preparation, at the least ideal time, Martin fell and ended up with a nasty shoulder injury. The diagnosis was bad – several weeks without a bike in rest mode. At that time, Martin Soucek was facing the most important qualifying races, without which he would not have been able to compete in Race Across America. It was the only way to qualify for the dream race. After a quick rehabilitation, Martin had to ride 2100 km from the Czech Republic to Croatia and back in 4.5 days. Just one more attempt and one last chance to qualify for RAAM.
A journey of 2100 km from the Czech Republic to Croatia and back. All this in an incredibly tight deadline of 4.5 days. Martin Souček was also injured and not in ideal shape. Anyway, the whole team worked 100%. The first day rode as planned, but from the second day, Martin started to struggle, especially the mountain peaks cut off his legs and he stopped eating. Because we were 400 kilometers behind schedule, the next day we knew that Martin had to go without a break and no sleep. Unfortunately, Martin’s body called for a definitive stop. The dream of Race Across America was gone. Martin got in the car, and no one knew what was next.
The qualifying trip to Croatia and back was not just about passing the RAAM limit. The Domestici team wanted to symbolically end their journey in Pilsen at the St. Lazarus Hospice, for which Martin Soucek and his team are raising funds.
And that’s why the whole Domestici team does it. To help people who have the toughest fight ahead of them. Just as “domestic” is a cycling helper, the doctors and nurses are helpers to anyone seriously ill who needs help.
In Pilsen at St. Lazarus Hospice Martin signed a memorandum guaranteeing that the money from all donors would go to the right place.
Last year, the attempt at the Race Across America unfortunately didn’t work out. But Team Domestici and Martin Soucek are not giving up – they are continuing the fight. Furthermore, Martin will enter this year’s RAAM alongside Tomas Navratil, who has already successfully completed the toughest race on the planet. Tomas has a rich experience and he was the maximum support in Martin’s journey. Now they are going to Race Across the America together in the group category!
The Race Across America 2024 is just around the corner, and the Domestici team is in full preparation. We are thrilled that Repete bikes are an integral part of this project, and this year will be no different. Team Repete, along with hundreds of other Domestici, is ready to support Martin and Tomas on their journey across America while also supporting palliative care in the Czech Republic.
Become another member of the Domestici team and support palliative care in the Czech Republic. For more information: www.instagram.com/domestici.cz/ or www.domestici.cz
